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Authorities: Flight 370 on autopilot when it crashed

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was on autopilot over the southern Indian Ocean until its fuel expired, Australian officials said Thursday. The hunt for the plane, missing since March 8, will now shift to a new search area to the south of previous efforts, they said.

BEIJING — Authorities believe missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 was on autopilot for hours when it crashed into the southern Indian Ocean, Australian officials said Thursday as they announced the search for the jet will shift to a new area.

"Certainly for its path across the Indian Ocean, we are confident that the aircraft was operating on autopilot until it ran out of fuel," Martin Dolan, chief commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, said at a press conference in Canberra on Thursday.

Asked whether the autopilot would have been manually turned on, Dolan said, "The basic assumption would be that if the autopilot is operational it's because it's been switched on."

Transport Minister Warren Truss said officials wouldn't be able to accurately determine when the plane's autopilot was turned on, and have not attempted to. The flight from Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8 carried 239 passengers and crew, including 153 Chinese citizens whose relatives have been highly critical of the investigation.

The new search area, still in a remote part of the ocean off Western Australia, totals about 23,200 square miles and was defined after further review of existing information, Truss said.

Investigators are confident missing flight MH370 was on autopilot when it crashed in a remote stretch of the Indian Ocean, Australian officials said on Thursday as they announced the latest shift in the search for the airliner. (June 26)
AP

"Specialists have analyzed satellite communications information — information which was never initially intended to have the capability to track an aircraft — and performed extremely complex calculations," he said. "The new priority area is still focused on the seventh arc, where the aircraft last communicated with satellite."

This map, provided June 26 by the Joint Agency Coordination Center, details the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in the southern Indian Ocean.(Photo: Joint Agency Coordination Center via AP)

The new search area was the subject of a surface-only search during the first month of the investigation.

Mapping work continues of the target area's ocean floor, before an underwater search begins in August. That renewed search, using more advanced equipment than the U.S. Navy's Bluefin-21 mini-sub, could take up to 12 months, according to Australian officials.

"I really can't understand why Australia still chose the southern corridor, as they don't have any concrete evidence," said Liu, 41, referring to the southern section of the possible flight path. "I think they should find the accurate evidence first, then start a new search later," he said.

Like many Chinese relatives, Li Xinmao refuses to accept that his daughter Li Yan, 31, is dead.

"I still think the plane may land on some island or land, there is still some hope for our relatives," Li said.

"I can't believe the plane was operating on autopilot. This is sheer nonsense!" he added. "I am so angry there is still no progress in the investigation."

Contributing: Sunny Yang; The Associated Press

A relative of a passenger abaoard the missing Malaysia Airlines jet displays a photograph of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak with the words, "Please bring back my husband," on Jan. 29 in Putrajaya. The 239 passengers and crew on the missing airliner have been declared dead and their disappearance on March 8, 2014, was formally declared an accident. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Parents whose son was on the missing airliner demand the Malaysian government continue the search for the Malaysia Airlines flight near the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing. The poster reads, "Malaysia Airlines, return my relative to me." (Photo: Andy Wong, AP)

Jiang Hui, left, and Dai Shuqin, relatives of passengers on the Malaysia Airlines flight, react after watching a pre-recorded message from Malaysia's Civil Aviation Authority on a laptop in Beijing. Malaysian officials declared the crash of Flight 370 an accident.This clears the way for families to seek compensation, as the plane remains missing. (Photo: Andy Wong, AP)

A photograph released on April 15 shows operators aboard the ADF Ocean Shield prepare to launch a U.S. Navy Bluefin-21 robotic submarine to search for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet in the Indian Ocean. (Photo: U.S. Navy MC1 Peter D. Blair via AFP/Getty Images)

Royal New Zealand Air Force Sgt. Trent Wyatt searches for the missing Boeing 777 from a P-3 Orion aircraft on April 11 over the southern Indian Ocean. (Photo: Pool photo by Richard Wainwright AFP/Getty Images)

A Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion aircraft flies over the Australian Defense Force vessel Ocean Shield during a search for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet on April 9 in the southern Indian Ocean. The ship has detected two new underwater signals that may be emanating from the aircraft's black boxes. The Boeing 777 with 239 people on board disappeared on March 8. (Photo: LSIS Bradley Darvill, Australian Defense Force, via AP)

Japanese and Malaysian officials watch the departure of a Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force P3C plane at Subang airbase near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The plane is flying to Australia to join the search for the missing airliner. (Photo: Ahmad Yusni, epa)

Australian navy Able Seaman Clearance Divers Michael Arnold, left, and Matthew Johnston from the ship ADV Ocean Shield scan the water for debris from the missing jet on April 7 in the southern Indian Ocean. (Photo: Lt. Ryan Davis, AFP/Getty Images)

A Royal Malaysia Air Force C-130 takes off on a search mission for a missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 jet on April 3 from Pearce air force base in Perth, Australia. The airliner with 239 people on board disappeared on March 8 on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. (Photo: Pool photo by Rob Griffith)

A crew member aboard a Royal New Zealand Air Force P3 Orion aircraft searches for debris from the missing Malaysia Airlines jet on April 2 over the Indian Ocean northwest of Perth, Australia. The Boeing 777 airliner with 239 people on board disappeared on March 8 on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. (Photo: Pool photo by Kim Christian EPA)

Malaysia's civil aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, left, speaks to the media after a private meeting with Chinese relatives of the passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines jet at a hotel in Bangi near Kuala Lumpur. (Photo: Joshua Paul, AP)

People who are related to passengers on the missing flight talk with members of the Malaysia Airlines special assistance team during a meeting at a hotel in Beijing. (Photo: Wang Zhao, AFP/Getty Images)

A picture on a monitor shows a piece of unknown debris spotted by a Royal New Zealand P-3 Orion during a search operation for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet on March 31 in the southern Indian Ocean. The images were sent for analysis to the Rescue Coordination Center and Australian Maritime Safety Authority. (Photo: Pool photo by Rob Griffith)

A relative of a Chinese passenger on the missing jet prays before a briefing with Malaysian officials at a hotel in Beijing. The Boeing 777 disappeared on March 8 on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. (Photo: Alexander F. Yuan, AP)

South Korean Navy Lieutenant Commander Oh Kang-Min wears a MH370 search-and-rescue team patch as he waits to meet Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott at an air base in Perth, Australia. (Photo: Pool photo by Jason Reed)

A Royal Australian Air Force ground crewman stands in front of a Royal Malaysian Air Force C-130 Hercules after it landed at RAAF Base Pearce on March 29 to help with the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in Perth, Australia. (Photo: Rob Griffith, AP)

An Royal Australian Air Force aircraft takes off on a search mission for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet from Pearce Airbase on March 28 in Bullsbrook. Planes and ships raced to a new search zone after investigators suggested the missing Boeing 777 was flying faster than first thought before it plunged into the Indian Ocean. (Photo: Greg Wood, AFP/Getty Images)

Chinese relatives of passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines fligh pray in a room at the Metro Park Lido Hotel in Beijing. The airliner with 239 people on board disappeared on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8. (Photo: Mark Ralston, AFP/Getty Images)

Royal Australian Air Force Flight Lt. Jayson Nichols looks at a map as he flies aboard an AP-3C Orion aircraft during a search operation for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet over the southern Indian Ocean. (Photo: Pool photo by Michael Martina)

A Thaichote satellite image taken on March 24 and released March 27 by the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency shows objects floating in the Indian Ocean near the search area for the missing jet. (Photo: GSTDA via AP)

A Malaysian air force general reacts as he answers a question from a relative of a passenger on a missing Malaysia Airlines jet during a meeting at the Metro Park Lido Hotel in Beijing. The relatives were told that they would be brought to the recovery area as the search goes on for wreckage. (Photo: Wang Zhao, AFP/Getty Images)

A satellite from the Malaysian Remote Sensing Agency taken on March 23 shows the location of unknown objects in the southern Indian Ocean off the southwestern coast of Perth, Australia. A Malaysia Airlines jet with 239 people on board disappeared on March 8 on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. (Photo: MRSA via Getty Images)

Malaysian Minister of Defense and acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein shows pictures of possible debris from the missing Malaysia Airlines jet on March 26 at the Putra World Trade Center in Kuala Lumpur. The Boeing 777 with 239 people on board disappeared on March 8 on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. (Photo: Mohd Rasfan, AFP/Getty Images)

A family member, right, of passengers aboard a missing Malaysia Airlines plane is comforted by a member of the Special Assistance Team at a hotel in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on March 25. (Photo: Joshua Paul, AP)

High school students attend a vigil for passengers aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines jet in Lianyungang, China. The Boeing 777 airliner disappeared on March 8 on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

A grieving Chinese relative yells at journalists during a protest outside the Malaysian Embassy. Angry relatives of the Chinese passengers aboard the missing Boeing 777 marched to the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing to demand more answers about the crash. (Photo: Mark Ralston, AFP/Getty Images)